The Guard-iac Kids: Adventures in Cleveland

CBLCardinals · 10-23-2022, 05:29 PM

Well after seeing many fun, great dynasties I follow on the board I decided to hop in myself. For most of my posts I will have a song and artist that will be the theme of the post.
It might be a phrase, words, or other inspiration from said song. With that said.... lets get started shall we??

“Life in the Fast Lane”
Eagles

After the final play of their 2022 season, two things were clear….Cleveland is here and on the upswing. The AL Central champs won 92 games and pushed the Yankees to the brink in the ALDS.

The roster features the youngest team in MLB, with veteran stars Jose Ramirez and Shane Bieber, breakout seasons from emerging stars like Emmanuel Clase, Triston McKenzie, Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan, and strong upper level minor league talent.

For 2022 league recaps:

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Houston Astros in an epic seven game World Series battle

AL MVP - Aaron Judge, NYY
AL Cy Young - Dylan Cease, CHW
AL ROY - Julio Rodriguez, SEA
Reliever of Year - Emmanuel Clase, CLE

NL MVP - Paul Goldschmidt, STL
NL Cy Young - Sandy Alcantara, MIA
NL ROY - Michael Harris, ATL
Reliever of Year - Edwin Diaz, NYM

Other Cleveland awards:
AL Silver Slugger 3B - Jose Ramirez

My off-season goals:

-Stay true to our DNA / great defense, pitching, and base running. Need to improve offense without deviating

-Extend the stars. With a extremely low payroll, we plan to try and extend both ace Shane Bieber and emerging star 2b Andres Gimenez.

-Improve C and 1B. The 2022 offensive output from both positions was somewhere between awful (C) and below average (1B).

-Sign veteran innings-eater. We have good SP depth in upper minors, but may need a P that can give us innings this season. Also not 100% sold on Civale/Plesac being more than #5’s.

-Win the AL Central, beat the other "big boys" in the playoffs. Life aint easy in the fast lane and taking on teams with double to triple our payroll.

Settings:
-2022 Live start 10-20-22
-Other world leagues of X included
-Display potential talent only
-Current rating hidden
-Overall rating hidden
-Injury proneness hidden
-Personality traits hidden
-Trade set to hardest level
-Minors set to 30 player rosters for AAA, AA, A+, A
-DSL 40 player roster
-Rookie leagues 50 player rosters
-Service time limits of 5 (AAA, AA) 4 (A+, A), and 3 (DSL, Rookie)
-No infield shifts
-Minimum batters faced back down to 1 (3 in real MLB)
-Ghost runners all games after 9 innings of play
-Use of balanced schedule posted in the mods forum. I believe it sets division games to now 14 games, and continuing to play outside league and division

My role is as GM/Manager Jack Jackson (or JJ), a fictional veteran coach/scout/front office assistant/minor leaguer that is well connected to the game. Hopefully you will find out more about JJ as time progresses.

Hope you enjoy the ride!!!

JJ

CBLCardinals · 10-23-2022, 05:36 PM

“One piece at a time”
Johnny Cash

Owner Larry Nolan, noted penny pincher in recent years, announced a budget of $148M, giving us around $50M to add to 2023 payroll budget. It’s good to see the old man invest a bit in this club

Building a consistent winner takes a sound game plan, time and many pieces. My initial plan was to keep Terry Francona around as bench coach, however Tito decided to retire.
We wish this legendary coach the best and sure to see him in the Hall of Fame soon.

Ideally I would like to have a bench coach that can work with our players on defense. First call I make is to an old pal Jose Oquendo.

“Jose, this is JJ.” (JJ)

Without speaking another word Jose pipes in:

“JJ whatever it is I’m in”. (JO)

“Man sounds good! I need a bench coach to work D with these boys. You’re the perfect choice. See you soon!” (JJ)

My first player call is to Austin Hedges about a possible extension. He provides elite defense behind the plate and leadership in the clubhouse. Plan is to have him be primary backup C.

“Hedges this is JJ. I hope you still have your gear around cuz we want to bring you back. (JJ)

“Oh man sounds great JJ. I’d love to come back to this group. Most fun I’ve had in pro baseball. Let me touch base with my agent and touch base soon.” (AH)

We probably overpaid a bit, but agree to a 3 year, $12M deal. ‘24 and ‘25 seasons are team options with reasonable buyouts so could end up being a 1 year deal guarantee ultimately. With Jose and Hedges, we now have two pieces tied up.

In the Rule 5 draft we selected RHP Dillon Tate from BAL. A extreme GB pitcher, he appears to have average stuff, plus-plus movement and control. Should be a good cheap addition to our already strong bullpen.

During the Arbitration process we retained the following:

(P) - Ruling in favor for player
(T) - Ruling in favor for team

Shane Bieber, P, $15.6 M (P)
Luke Maile, C, $1.9 M (T)
Ahmed Rosario, SS, $8.0 M (T)
Josh Naylor, 1B, $1.8 M, (T)
Cal Quantrill, P, $4.6 M, (P)
Anthony Gose, P, $0.95 M, (T)

Maile we plan to use as a potential third option at C and stash him in Columbus (AAA). Rosario will get the initial start at SS, but prospects Bryan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman are poised to potentially take over the position soon.

Many more pieces to go…..

CBLCardinals · 10-23-2022, 08:24 PM

The Gambler
Kenny Rogers
“…..know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away….”

Next I begin exploring the free agent talent. At first glance the free agent market has a wealth of great players, however all naturally want top dollar. Unfortunately for us, some of the deepest free agent talent is middle IF where we have both talent and depth. Some stars include Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogarts, and Dansby Swanson.

In the outfield scene record setting slugger Aaron Judge is available, but looking for 40-45 M per year so LOL not in our range realistically. The main star at C is Wilson Contreaes, but he’s looking for 25M plus for 6+ years. He’s still a good hitter, but average at best on defense. The 1B market has talent with Jose Abreu, Josh Bell and a few others, but not interested in giving out huge deals to really any one player. We have some exploratory conversations with several agents, but quickly realize it’s top dollar for everyone. Even some of the average-ish talent want big bucks creating a lot of confusion on our value ratios. May have to explore the trade market as well with prices this high… yikes 😱

We start kicking the tires on the trade market and gauge the temperature of Oakland with C Sean Murphy. Murphy, one of the top overall catchers in baseball, is coming off another Gold Glove campaign with 20 HR. Oakland has depth at the catcher position with Langeliers and Soderstrom so we start negotiating.

It’s clear initially we will have to part with at least 2 top 100 MLB talents to pry him away. From a prospect capital perspective it’s a deep price to pay, but would guarantee we would have a top-tier defensive and hitting catcher at least the next 3 season. We gamble on the star player, and make the deal.

To CLE
C Murphy

To OAK
C Bo Naylor
SS Arias
P Plesac
P Zapata

With Murphy and Hedges at catcher, no need for Bo Naylor. He had a breakout 2022 season and has the talent to be a good player. Gabriel Arias is a plus defender with a plus-plus arm, and average to above average power. Question marks still surround his bat. Our plan up the middle is start Rosario & Gimenez, with Rocchio and Freeman as backup options. We believe both Rocchio and Freeman offer higher upside than Arias (especially Rocchio) so we can justify dealing him. We also have a wealth of MIF talent in the minors coming soon with Angel Martinez and Jose Tena. Plesac is a name, but in reality is a #5 starter at best. We have a ton of young arms in upper minors coming up soon, so can afford to deal him. Zapata is just a minor league filler so no loss there.

For Oakland they get a lot of controllable young talent in Naylor and Arias, and a starter who can eat innings in Plesac and controllable.

We start scouting the 1B trade market and land on a potential target, Christian Walker. At 31, he had a breakout season for Arizona with career high 36 Homeruns. He also is a plus defender at first so also is a bonus. He’s on a 4 year reasonable contract. Arizona requested Cody Morris, a young promising arm. With our talent and depth in arms, Morris is behind future dudes like Daniel Espino, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, and Tanner Bibee so again depth we will leverage to our advantage.

To CLE
1B Walker, ARI retains 20% of contract

To ARI
P Morris

Two trades, two massive upgrades!

CBLCardinals · 10-24-2022, 06:45 PM

Time
Pink Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYX52BP2Sk

During all of this trading excitement I next quickly turn my attention to engage both Shane Bieber and Andres Gimenez to discuss extensions.

At initial step, both express the desire for one year deals which concerned me. Both are core players we plan to build around, so we offer reasonable deals. Gimenez we offer a 7 year deal around $120M and he informs us doesn’t want to be tied up that long (UGH!)

We next offer Gimenez a 6 year/$100 M extension that would keep him in Cleveland until his age 30 season. Without the deal we would still maintain club control of him 4 more seasons through arbitration, but we want to build around him more long term.

They don’t grow 5 WAR players on trees, so he is our #1 extension priority. He tells us give him a few days to think it over (nervousness sets in….).

Ace Shane Bieber, 27, is our next target to extend. Bieber only has 2 years remaining of team control, and another player we want to invest in. Bieber has proven to be one of the top pitchers in MLB so not certain if he wants to explore FA in 2 seasons, or prefer financial security now.

At his age and talent, he could fully demand a 10 year deal that we would have to politely decline. We love Bieber, but 10 years would be a huge risk. He initially expresses desire for 1 year deal so we counter offer 5 year / $117.5 M deal.

Similar to Gimenez he lets us know needs about a week to review and get back to us. Even with our pitching depth, we view Bieber as a “must” to keep around, as long as contract length and size make sense. Hope to hear from both soon…… 🤞

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day...."

CBLCardinals · 10-25-2022, 08:44 PM

Beautiful Day
U2

🎶 It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day (Oooh, ooh) 🎶

After a few painful days of waiting both Andres Gimenez and Shane Bieber accept contract extensions! BOOM 💥💥

Both are two critical core pieces for us to retain over the next several years and build around. Terms of the deals below:

Andres Gimenez, 6 year extension / $100 M

Gimenez is a 24 year old plus-plus contact, plus speed, plus-plus defender at 2b. Potential to be a future Silver Slugger and Glove Glove award winner. STUD!

Shane Bieber, 5 year extension, $117.5M

Shane already has won one Cy Young award. If he stays healthy like 2022 he has the chance to win another in the next few seasons. Plus stuff, plus-plus control, and the ability to work deep in to games.

With two stars locked up, we switch attention again to the free agent market to fill a few gaps. As the winter months roll on, we keep tabs on two specific players in free agency: Martin Perez and Matt Boyd. Perez had a great 2022 season in Texas, keeps the ball in the park with his sinker, and provides quality pitched innings. Plus he is a lefty who controls the running game. After a mostly lost injury 2022 season Matt Boyd now is a bullpen arm that still has quality stuff.

Perez I envision as an innings-eating SP to spot around #4 in rotation. Boyd would join Sam Hentges as another LH option in the bullpen.

Both of their demands have softened a bit, to the point we make offers. Perez accepts a 2 year, $19 M deal. Year 2 is a team option. Although we have a lot of good arms on the way, want to make sure we have someone on staff to be a quality placeholder until they are ready.

Boyd accepts a 1 year deal for $4.5 M. I prefer to have at least 2 LHP in the pen if at all possible. The plan will be to utilize him in middle innings.

With our off-season moves consisting of trades of players on reasonable deals, and smaller short term deals, we still have around $25 M to spend for the 2023 season, and close to $20 M next. There remains an elite player left on the market, so we will see if we can lure him in to a short term deal. Who is it? Well, guess we will find out together next episode

CBLCardinals · 10-26-2022, 10:11 PM

Narcos
Timmy Trumpet and Blasterjaxx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S73zDvMgGmI

At the beginning of free agency, Edwin Diaz was requesting $18 M per year for 6 years. Diaz had a season for the ages with a strikeout rate of an incredible 17.9 K/9, 1.31 ERA, and 32 Saves in 2022.

With our bullpen depth and asking price, we didn’t pursue him due to other pressing team needs.

The calendar hits February and we still see Diaz out there available. I decide to check in to see price range. His agent communicates back to me Diaz is looking for $45M over 3 years, guaranteed role as closer, and no trade clause.

As a smaller budget team that type of dollars to one player, especially being a closer and 3 years guaranteed didn’t make sense.

After the call ended with Diaz’s agent my mind started exploring a team that could potentially have both Diaz AND Clase closing games. Both are lights out elite-level stoppers. A current strength (bullpen) could be even more devastating.

I make the call back to Edwin’s agent and make an offer of $30 M over 2 years with 2024 as $15 team option. No guarantee of closer role. I plant the seed to him of both Clase and him closing games or using either whenever team needs them.

After two days Diaz agent calls back to accept our offer!! Man can’t wait until March gets here.

Up next we will go "around the horn" to track key free agency signings from around the league. Where did Aaron Judge finally sign, and for how much?

Tune in next episode to find out!

kinnikuniverse · 10-27-2022, 06:06 AM

Yeah, this season made me remember that edwin diaz was actually good. What years of LOLmets and "Edlose Diaz" memes did to my perception of him...

10-23-2022, 08:24 PM	#3
CBLCardinals OOTP Roster Team Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,793	The Gambler Kenny Rogers “…..know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away….” Next I begin exploring the free agent talent. At first glance the free agent market has a wealth of great players, however all naturally want top dollar. Unfortunately for us, some of the deepest free agent talent is middle IF where we have both talent and depth. Some stars include Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogarts, and Dansby Swanson. In the outfield scene record setting slugger Aaron Judge is available, but looking for 40-45 M per year so LOL not in our range realistically. The main star at C is Wilson Contreaes, but he’s looking for 25M plus for 6+ years. He’s still a good hitter, but average at best on defense. The 1B market has talent with Jose Abreu, Josh Bell and a few others, but not interested in giving out huge deals to really any one player. We have some exploratory conversations with several agents, but quickly realize it’s top dollar for everyone. Even some of the average-ish talent want big bucks creating a lot of confusion on our value ratios. May have to explore the trade market as well with prices this high… yikes 😱 We start kicking the tires on the trade market and gauge the temperature of Oakland with C Sean Murphy. Murphy, one of the top overall catchers in baseball, is coming off another Gold Glove campaign with 20 HR. Oakland has depth at the catcher position with Langeliers and Soderstrom so we start negotiating. It’s clear initially we will have to part with at least 2 top 100 MLB talents to pry him away. From a prospect capital perspective it’s a deep price to pay, but would guarantee we would have a top-tier defensive and hitting catcher at least the next 3 season. We gamble on the star player, and make the deal. To CLE C Murphy To OAK C Bo Naylor SS Arias P Plesac P Zapata With Murphy and Hedges at catcher, no need for Bo Naylor. He had a breakout 2022 season and has the talent to be a good player. Gabriel Arias is a plus defender with a plus-plus arm, and average to above average power. Question marks still surround his bat. Our plan up the middle is start Rosario & Gimenez, with Rocchio and Freeman as backup options. We believe both Rocchio and Freeman offer higher upside than Arias (especially Rocchio) so we can justify dealing him. We also have a wealth of MIF talent in the minors coming soon with Angel Martinez and Jose Tena. Plesac is a name, but in reality is a #5 starter at best. We have a ton of young arms in upper minors coming up soon, so can afford to deal him. Zapata is just a minor league filler so no loss there. For Oakland they get a lot of controllable young talent in Naylor and Arias, and a starter who can eat innings in Plesac and controllable. We start scouting the 1B trade market and land on a potential target, Christian Walker. At 31, he had a breakout season for Arizona with career high 36 Homeruns. He also is a plus defender at first so also is a bonus. He’s on a 4 year reasonable contract. Arizona requested Cody Morris, a young promising arm. With our talent and depth in arms, Morris is behind future dudes like Daniel Espino, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, and Tanner Bibee so again depth we will leverage to our advantage. To CLE 1B Walker, ARI retains 20% of contract To ARI P Morris Two trades, two massive upgrades! Last edited by CBLCardinals; 10-23-2022 at 08:26 PM.

10-23-2022, 05:29 PM	#1
CBLCardinals OOTP Roster Team Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,793	The Guard-iac Kids: Adventures in Cleveland Well after seeing many fun, great dynasties I follow on the board I decided to hop in myself. For most of my posts I will have a song and artist that will be the theme of the post. It might be a phrase, words, or other inspiration from said song. With that said.... lets get started shall we?? “Life in the Fast Lane” Eagles After the final play of their 2022 season, two things were clear….Cleveland is here and on the upswing. The AL Central champs won 92 games and pushed the Yankees to the brink in the ALDS. The roster features the youngest team in MLB, with veteran stars Jose Ramirez and Shane Bieber, breakout seasons from emerging stars like Emmanuel Clase, Triston McKenzie, Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan, and strong upper level minor league talent. For 2022 league recaps: The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Houston Astros in an epic seven game World Series battle AL MVP - Aaron Judge, NYY AL Cy Young - Dylan Cease, CHW AL ROY - Julio Rodriguez, SEA Reliever of Year - Emmanuel Clase, CLE NL MVP - Paul Goldschmidt, STL NL Cy Young - Sandy Alcantara, MIA NL ROY - Michael Harris, ATL Reliever of Year - Edwin Diaz, NYM Other Cleveland awards: AL Silver Slugger 3B - Jose Ramirez My off-season goals: -Stay true to our DNA / great defense, pitching, and base running. Need to improve offense without deviating -Extend the stars. With a extremely low payroll, we plan to try and extend both ace Shane Bieber and emerging star 2b Andres Gimenez. -Improve C and 1B. The 2022 offensive output from both positions was somewhere between awful (C) and below average (1B). -Sign veteran innings-eater. We have good SP depth in upper minors, but may need a P that can give us innings this season. Also not 100% sold on Civale/Plesac being more than #5’s. -Win the AL Central, beat the other "big boys" in the playoffs. Life aint easy in the fast lane and taking on teams with double to triple our payroll. Settings: -2022 Live start 10-20-22 -Other world leagues of X included -Display potential talent only -Current rating hidden -Overall rating hidden -Injury proneness hidden -Personality traits hidden -Trade set to hardest level -Minors set to 30 player rosters for AAA, AA, A+, A -DSL 40 player roster -Rookie leagues 50 player rosters -Service time limits of 5 (AAA, AA) 4 (A+, A), and 3 (DSL, Rookie) -No infield shifts -Minimum batters faced back down to 1 (3 in real MLB) -Ghost runners all games after 9 innings of play -Use of balanced schedule posted in the mods forum. I believe it sets division games to now 14 games, and continuing to play outside league and division My role is as GM/Manager Jack Jackson (or JJ), a fictional veteran coach/scout/front office assistant/minor leaguer that is well connected to the game. Hopefully you will find out more about JJ as time progresses. Hope you enjoy the ride!!! JJ Last edited by CBLCardinals; 10-23-2022 at 07:52 PM.

10-23-2022, 05:36 PM	#2
CBLCardinals OOTP Roster Team Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,793	“One piece at a time” Johnny Cash Owner Larry Nolan, noted penny pincher in recent years, announced a budget of $148M, giving us around $50M to add to 2023 payroll budget. It’s good to see the old man invest a bit in this club Building a consistent winner takes a sound game plan, time and many pieces. My initial plan was to keep Terry Francona around as bench coach, however Tito decided to retire. We wish this legendary coach the best and sure to see him in the Hall of Fame soon. Ideally I would like to have a bench coach that can work with our players on defense. First call I make is to an old pal Jose Oquendo. “Jose, this is JJ.” (JJ) Without speaking another word Jose pipes in: “JJ whatever it is I’m in”. (JO) “Man sounds good! I need a bench coach to work D with these boys. You’re the perfect choice. See you soon!” (JJ) My first player call is to Austin Hedges about a possible extension. He provides elite defense behind the plate and leadership in the clubhouse. Plan is to have him be primary backup C. “Hedges this is JJ. I hope you still have your gear around cuz we want to bring you back. (JJ) “Oh man sounds great JJ. I’d love to come back to this group. Most fun I’ve had in pro baseball. Let me touch base with my agent and touch base soon.” (AH) We probably overpaid a bit, but agree to a 3 year, $12M deal. ‘24 and ‘25 seasons are team options with reasonable buyouts so could end up being a 1 year deal guarantee ultimately. With Jose and Hedges, we now have two pieces tied up. In the Rule 5 draft we selected RHP Dillon Tate from BAL. A extreme GB pitcher, he appears to have average stuff, plus-plus movement and control. Should be a good cheap addition to our already strong bullpen. During the Arbitration process we retained the following: (P) - Ruling in favor for player (T) - Ruling in favor for team Shane Bieber, P, $15.6 M (P) Luke Maile, C, $1.9 M (T) Ahmed Rosario, SS, $8.0 M (T) Josh Naylor, 1B, $1.8 M, (T) Cal Quantrill, P, $4.6 M, (P) Anthony Gose, P, $0.95 M, (T) Maile we plan to use as a potential third option at C and stash him in Columbus (AAA). Rosario will get the initial start at SS, but prospects Bryan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman are poised to potentially take over the position soon. Many more pieces to go…..

10-24-2022, 06:45 PM	#4
CBLCardinals OOTP Roster Team Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,793	Time Pink Floyd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYX52BP2Sk During all of this trading excitement I next quickly turn my attention to engage both Shane Bieber and Andres Gimenez to discuss extensions. At initial step, both express the desire for one year deals which concerned me. Both are core players we plan to build around, so we offer reasonable deals. Gimenez we offer a 7 year deal around $120M and he informs us doesn’t want to be tied up that long (UGH!) We next offer Gimenez a 6 year/$100 M extension that would keep him in Cleveland until his age 30 season. Without the deal we would still maintain club control of him 4 more seasons through arbitration, but we want to build around him more long term. They don’t grow 5 WAR players on trees, so he is our #1 extension priority. He tells us give him a few days to think it over (nervousness sets in….). Ace Shane Bieber, 27, is our next target to extend. Bieber only has 2 years remaining of team control, and another player we want to invest in. Bieber has proven to be one of the top pitchers in MLB so not certain if he wants to explore FA in 2 seasons, or prefer financial security now. At his age and talent, he could fully demand a 10 year deal that we would have to politely decline. We love Bieber, but 10 years would be a huge risk. He initially expresses desire for 1 year deal so we counter offer 5 year / $117.5 M deal. Similar to Gimenez he lets us know needs about a week to review and get back to us. Even with our pitching depth, we view Bieber as a “must” to keep around, as long as contract length and size make sense. Hope to hear from both soon…… 🤞 "Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day...."

10-25-2022, 08:44 PM	#5
CBLCardinals OOTP Roster Team Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,793	Beautiful Day U2 🎶 It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away It's a beautiful day (Oooh, ooh) 🎶 After a few painful days of waiting both Andres Gimenez and Shane Bieber accept contract extensions! BOOM 💥💥 Both are two critical core pieces for us to retain over the next several years and build around. Terms of the deals below: Andres Gimenez, 6 year extension / $100 M Gimenez is a 24 year old plus-plus contact, plus speed, plus-plus defender at 2b. Potential to be a future Silver Slugger and Glove Glove award winner. STUD! Shane Bieber, 5 year extension, $117.5M Shane already has won one Cy Young award. If he stays healthy like 2022 he has the chance to win another in the next few seasons. Plus stuff, plus-plus control, and the ability to work deep in to games. With two stars locked up, we switch attention again to the free agent market to fill a few gaps. As the winter months roll on, we keep tabs on two specific players in free agency: Martin Perez and Matt Boyd. Perez had a great 2022 season in Texas, keeps the ball in the park with his sinker, and provides quality pitched innings. Plus he is a lefty who controls the running game. After a mostly lost injury 2022 season Matt Boyd now is a bullpen arm that still has quality stuff. Perez I envision as an innings-eating SP to spot around #4 in rotation. Boyd would join Sam Hentges as another LH option in the bullpen. Both of their demands have softened a bit, to the point we make offers. Perez accepts a 2 year, $19 M deal. Year 2 is a team option. Although we have a lot of good arms on the way, want to make sure we have someone on staff to be a quality placeholder until they are ready. Boyd accepts a 1 year deal for $4.5 M. I prefer to have at least 2 LHP in the pen if at all possible. The plan will be to utilize him in middle innings. With our off-season moves consisting of trades of players on reasonable deals, and smaller short term deals, we still have around $25 M to spend for the 2023 season, and close to $20 M next. There remains an elite player left on the market, so we will see if we can lure him in to a short term deal. Who is it? Well, guess we will find out together next episode

10-26-2022, 10:11 PM	#6
CBLCardinals OOTP Roster Team Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,793	Narcos Timmy Trumpet and Blasterjaxx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S73zDvMgGmI At the beginning of free agency, Edwin Diaz was requesting $18 M per year for 6 years. Diaz had a season for the ages with a strikeout rate of an incredible 17.9 K/9, 1.31 ERA, and 32 Saves in 2022. With our bullpen depth and asking price, we didn’t pursue him due to other pressing team needs. The calendar hits February and we still see Diaz out there available. I decide to check in to see price range. His agent communicates back to me Diaz is looking for $45M over 3 years, guaranteed role as closer, and no trade clause. As a smaller budget team that type of dollars to one player, especially being a closer and 3 years guaranteed didn’t make sense. After the call ended with Diaz’s agent my mind started exploring a team that could potentially have both Diaz AND Clase closing games. Both are lights out elite-level stoppers. A current strength (bullpen) could be even more devastating. I make the call back to Edwin’s agent and make an offer of $30 M over 2 years with 2024 as $15 team option. No guarantee of closer role. I plant the seed to him of both Clase and him closing games or using either whenever team needs them. After two days Diaz agent calls back to accept our offer!! Man can’t wait until March gets here. Up next we will go "around the horn" to track key free agency signings from around the league. Where did Aaron Judge finally sign, and for how much? Tune in next episode to find out!

10-27-2022, 06:06 AM	#7
kinnikuniverse Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 79	Yeah, this season made me remember that edwin diaz was actually good. What years of LOLmets and "Edlose Diaz" memes did to my perception of him...